Working still? How do you manage to keep going?

I'm a software engineer and coding is no longer my favorite thing. My boss has let me do more project leadership and project management tasks like leading bug scrubs, code reviews, etc. Also do a lot more mentoring of the younger coders.

Since my treatment, I have had to change the nature of my job because things are just so much different in my brain these days.

yeah I get all that. Room to move is what's been helping me - not sure what I'd do without that.

I am lucky that I work for a rapidly growing company and I have a lot of room to move around. Maybe you need to poke the edges a little more and see if there are options (yeah, easier said than done).

The thing that has kept me going is that I've been able to shift what I do day to day. I've found that the PM work uses different skills/interests and while working with people isn't always easy, some days it's easier than figuring out the logic problems around coding (I mostly do python for a cloud infrastructure team).

I am also closer to being able to retire so that makes it easier to power through bad days since I know the end is closer.

I'm a teacher and have continued teaching since diagnosis in 2013.

I'm about to see another class of seniors graduate. In teaching, that is meaningful to me, beyond words.

I know that teaching during those first weeks after being diagnosed really helped uplift me.

A new school year had just started when I was diagnosed, and being with students each day kept my spirits uplifted, as treatments began.

My desk at school was covered with supportive notes, cards, and letters. My students rallied around me, as I underwent chemotherapy and later radiation.

A cancer diagnosis can bring stress, fatigue, and necessary time spent away from work that needs to be dedicated to treatments and medical appointments. It's a lot to juggle --- physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I think all of us have to find our own pathway, in finding that balance between juggling work and pursuing health treatments.

Many of us here, including me, were diagnosed in our 40s or 50s, and retirement wasn't even in view when we were diagnosed.

My work insurance is important to me, as it is for many members here. Medical expenses often far exceed our yearly salaries. Breakthrough medications carry hefty prices.

In all of this, medical insurance suddenly becomes of paramount importance!

I try very hard to walk each evening, as I feel it bolsters my energy. Weekends, I walk recreational trails at lakes in this area. I feel time outside relieves stress, renews energy, and helps keep my thinking sharper.

To conserve energy for a busy week at school, I get chores and errands done on weekends. I get groceries then, and get laundry done for the week ahead.

Each night before work, I also get everything organized for the next work day. This helps thing go much smoother at work the next day. I think it's essential to eliminate unnecessary stress, as much as possible.

I'm more selective when saying "yes" to social events these days on weekends.

Getting together with friends to watch the weekend game for a few hours, for example, is far less taxing than attending a weekend game and early morning tailgate party at the sports stadium.

These days, I focus on family events and gatherings with close friends. After a busy week at work, it is important to do some fun and relaxing things on the weekend.

If you have large scale home projects, break them up over time. If you exhaust yourself, by painting the garage all weekend, for example, then you won't have any "gas in your tank" to face Monday morning. The garage can be painted over a few weekends instead. Break tasks up into manageable chunks.

I take classes to keep my teaching license updated during the summer months now, rather than cramming them in on weekends during the school year like I used to do, years ago.

I like the phrase that reminds us to seek new ways to WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER. There's wisdom in that.

I think most employers would allow fellows in our situation to take occasional breaks during the work day, to rejuvenate.

At work, seek out and associate with co-workers who uplift and "polish you up, rather than grind you down."

When I got diagnosed, I decided I didn't need to each lunch anymore in the staff lounge --- where the "Debbie Downers" seem to thrive on sharing their petty gripes endlessly, to anyone who will listen. Needless to say, I don't miss lunch in the staff lounge.

Simple changes at work like this can alleviate negativity and improve your whole work day and outlook.

I think an occasional day off or three day weekend can be an important way to recharge. In some professions, working from home occasionally can also be an option.

I think setting a reasonable bedtime goes a long way, too. An extra half hour of sleep can work wonders sometimes.

When the weekend rolls around, don't set an alarm clock --- and catch a nap when you need one. Even batteries need to be recharged, and we are no different!

I find I still need the daily challenges that my work brings into my life. But, I also need time each evening to relax and unwind, as well.

Find what works for you, above all else, and keep forging ahead on your personal path.

Thought provoking topic, to be sure!

With my best,
Cyclone - Iowa State University

53rd year in business, still at it with no plans to quit. The benefits far out-way the costs. However...I no longer do 50' x 200' wall murals, quit driving gazillions of miles every year, spending way too many hours on the phone, in a paint spray booth or climbing around a tall building/motorhome/boat etc.

Got a PO Box and answering machine (voice mail now) got email, put up a website, limit how much, how big and what kind of work I take in. I am very good at doing some things that very few others do and have a constant comfortable flow of work. My work is part of who I am and why I am here, it evolves as I evolve.

I cope with the side effects as I have described elsewhere.

Time to run.

trailguy said...
53rd year in business, still at it with no plans to quit. The benefits far out-way the costs. However...I no longer do 50' x 200' wall murals, quit driving gazillions of miles every year, spending way too many hours on the phone, in a paint spray booth or climbing around a tall building/motorhome/boat etc.

Got a PO Box and answering machine (voice mail now) got email, put up a website, limit how much, how big and what kind of work I take in. I am very good at doing some things that very few others do and have a constant comfortable flow of work. My work is part of who I am and why I am here, it evolves as I evolve.

I cope with the side effects as I have described elsewhere.

Time to run.

you said it well. I am self-employed and my work has evolved and I work a lot less. I plan to work as long as I am able because it's a big part of my life and I like what I do.

When I was on ADT I got to the point where I rather hated work. I am a Java developer and I found that the brain fog made that really difficult. I missed the feeling of being the smartest guy in the room. Not that I probably ever was, actually, the smartest guy but a little benign self-delusion helps one contribute to the team. It was a problem.
So I talked to my doctors about it. They had caused the problem, with the drugs they gave me that made me dumb as dish water, and it seemed fair to expect them to find a way to offset the cognitive problems they had caused. We tried Modafinil which helped but was too expensive (insurance wouldn't pay for it and there were no generally-available generics at the time.) We finally decided on a combination of two antidepressants -- fluoxetine (Prozac) and bupropion (Welbutrin) that cut the fog and did not, themselves, seem to cause any unfortunate side effects.
I was once again able to convince myself that I was bright enough to do my job and was even able to convince my co-workers and my boss. I started enjoying work again.
When my ADT ended and I got my testosterone sorted out I was able to drop the fluoxetine.
I'm 67 and will probably keep working until I turn 70. I like working and part of my wife's job satisfaction at her work is to be able to threaten to quit when managers try to get in her way. If she were to quit she could go on my insurance because I am employed but if I retired she couldn't join me on Medicare for a few years. So I am working to make her occasional threats to quit her job credible. But, like I said, I like working so that's OK.

I second Cyclone-ISU’s advice. Some days are tough to power through and retirement is an option for me. Still there’s something to be said for having a reason to get up and a place to go, be appreciated for the years of knowledge and experience, be supported by coworkers and even management, and make a contribution everyday. To do that I do what he suggests...get organized the night before and have a routine that is mindless until walking into the office to see what awaits on any given day.

Can someone point me to a study of how many years of ADT, when used with RT, might add to my survival timeline? I am in the "prime of my senior years", 70s. Don't know if gaining a couple of extra years in my 80s would be worth "losing" even one year now. I can understand wanting to get to that next decade of life for you guys in your 50s and 60s. But one enjoyable year in my 70s, with my already low "T", is worth more than 2 yrs, of even lower "T", in my 80s, when I might not have "the interest" anyway.

So I am considering RT only.